In this blog
- Why do modern restaurants need a restaurant management solution?
- What are some of the common challenges the F&B industry faces globally?
- How does a restaurant ERP improve operational efficiency? What features help properties to actively improve revenue compared to legacy systems?
- A common feature that most property owners look for in new solutions is how they help reduce cost and wastage. How do you think IDS Next’s restaurant ERP control food costs effectively?
- How does having an ERP help improve guest experience in restaurants?
- How does an ERP help restaurants to access operational data/ information in real-time? Why is real-time reporting important in restaurants?
- How can restaurants reduce labour costs without impacting service?
- Finally, what does digital transformation look like for restaurants?
Listen to the blog
To remain competitive in the modern F&B industry, restaurants need more than singular solutions—they need integrated technology that delivers operational visibility, improves efficiency, and enhances guest experiences.
In this interview, Manoj K. Mohanty, Senior Vice President – Sales, South Asia & Southeast Asia of IDS Next, shares his perspectives on the challenges facing the industry, the role of restaurant ERP solutions in driving operational excellence, and how digital transformation is helping restaurants build more agile guest-centric businesses.
Q: Why do modern restaurants need a restaurant management solution?
A: One thing we notice about restaurants nowadays is that they operate in a much more demanding environment than they did a few years ago and the business landscape has changed. From order taking and management to billing and settlements, manual processes and disconnected systems create significant operational inefficiencies. These challenges also add to the contemporary pain points experienced by the food service industry, such as service delays, labour shortages, operational bottlenecks, and increased pressure from growing competition.
A restaurant ERP solution helps oversee and overcome these challenges by managing multiple areas of a restaurant operation, from order processing, billing, payments, menu management, and sales reporting. It provides operators with complete visibility and greater control over daily operations, enabling them to improve efficiency while delivering a better guest experience.
Q: What are some of the common challenges the F&B industry faces globally?
A: As mentioned, the food service industry faces a wide range of challenges, including rising food costs, labour shortages, increasing wage pressures, changing guest expectations, regulatory demands, and staff burnout. These obstacles impact everything from business profitability and efficiency to employee well-being, making adaptability essential for long-term success.
Q: How does a cloud-native restaurant ERP improve operational efficiency? What features help properties to actively improve revenue compared to legacy systems?
A: Restaurant ERP solutions eliminate the inefficiencies of managing multiple disconnected systems by centralising restaurant operations into one integrated platform. In fact, it was reported that 69% of operators who added new technology in the past few years reported meaningful improvements in efficiency and productivity.
By integrating all operations, restaurants can:
- Reduce manual data entry and human errors;
- Streamline workflows from order placement to billing;
- Enable real-time communication between front and back of house;
- Automated reporting and compliance tracking;
- Integration with multiple other property management platforms such as inventory or procurement;
- Track food costs accurately through real-time ingredient pricing;
- Waste reduction through better inventory control;
- Optimise labour scheduling and workforce productivity and
- Monitor revenue performance with real-time business insights.
Compared to legacy systems, cloud-native ERPs not only improve efficiency but also provide actionable insights that help restaurants identify revenue opportunities, improve margins, and make faster, data-driven decisions.
Q: A common feature that most property owners look for in new solutions is how they help reduce cost and wastage. How do you think IDS Next’s restaurant ERP control food costs effectively?
A: Rising food costs directly impact margins. That's why accurate food cost management has become a priority for restaurateurs.
With the IDS Next restaurant management solution, F&B properties can control food costs by tracking ingredient consumption, monitoring inventory in real time, reducing waste, implementing recipe costing, and optimising purchasing decisions.
By combining inventory management with real-time food cost insights, operators can maintain profitability while ensuring consistent menu quality and portion control.
Q: How does having an ERP help improve guest experience in restaurants?
A: Poor guest experience reduces repeat visits; hence, it's important to ensure that the guest experience is always a priority.
Integrated with reservation, loyalty, and guest engagement solutions, IDS Next restaurant ERP enables faster service, accurate order fulfilment, personalised promotions, loyalty rewards, and seamless digital interactions within restaurants.
Q: How does an ERP help restaurants to access operational data/ information in real-time? Why is real-time reporting important in restaurants?
A: Real-time reporting enables managers to monitor sales, inventory, labour costs, and operational performance instantly, allowing them to make informed decisions as situations evolve rather than relying only on end-of-day reports.
With centralised dashboards providing live operational insights, restaurants can attend quickly to changing business conditions, identify issues before they escalate, and improve overall responsiveness.
Q: How can restaurants reduce labour costs without impacting service?
A: Reducing labour costs isn't about employing fewer people. It’s about deploying the right people at the right time.
Restaurants can achieve this through workforce planning, optimised scheduling, automation, and productivity monitoring. By using workforce management and demand forecasting tools, businesses can align staffing levels with customer demand, improve employee productivity, and control labour expenses while maintaining service quality.
Q: Finally, what does digital transformation look like for restaurants?
A: Implementing a new solution is simply the first step of digital transformation. True transformation in hospitality is creating a connected ecosystem that enables smarter operations.
Restaurant technology should be cloud-native, AI-ready, mobile-first, and capable of integrating seamlessly with existing systems. It centralises operations across POS, online ordering, reservations, inventory, customer engagement, analytics, and more, giving operators complete visibility across the business.
Ultimately, digital transformation empowers restaurants to improve productivity, enhance guest experiences, make data-driven decisions, and scale sustainably in an increasingly competitive market.
Author
Manoj K Mohanty
Senior Vice President - Sales, South Asia & South East Asia
He brings extensive industry experience and a track record of success in selling technology and services to global clients across hospitality markets. He has proven to be essential and crucial Sales personnel who is primary involved and contributing to acquiring new clients in South Asia and South East Asian regions.
